God's anger

The thoughts of sorrow are yet more distractive; and such were this royal Prophets: as our vulgar reads; In the multitude of the sorrows that I had in my heart. What was the cause of those griefs: The slipping of his foot, his errors, his deviations, his sins. Other sorrows may disquiet the soul: none but these have the promise to be comforted. As in martyrdom, it is not the sword or torture; not what we suffer, but why, that makes us martyrs. So in our sorrows, it is not how deep they penetrate, or how sharply they cruciate, but wherefore, that approves their goodness. If our sins be the why of our sorrows, we are blessed. Blessed are they that thus mourn, for they shall be comforted. Vain ¹are the sighs and groans that proceed only ⟨p. 49⟩from the thought of worldly losses. A medicine that cureth the eyes, we say, was made for the eyes, and for nothing else. We lose our wealth, and sorrow for it; will sorrow recover it?² we are despised or abused, and grieve for it I: will grief right us? We bury our friends, and mourn for them; will mourning restore them to us? we are crossed by our unruly children, and weep for it: will weeping rectify them? We are anguished in our bodies with pains and sickness, and are sorry for it: will sorrow heal us, nay will it not rather hurt us? All our thoughts, and cares, and griefs, and tears can do us no good, no relief in these calamities: sorrow was not made for these things. But we sin, and offend the Lord; and we are sorrowful for it; here is the disease for which sorrow is the proper remedy: penitent sorrow shall take away sin. Quamvis peccavit David, quod silent reges: tamen poenitentiam egit, ³flevit, jejunavit, quod non solent reges: saith Saint Ambrose, who wrote him an apology. While the ground of our lesson is our sin, the choicest descant on it must be our sorrow. Our thoughts and griefs may be many; but if they be not spent upon our sins, we shall not be comforted.

The thoughts of sorrow are yet more distractive; and such were this royall Prophets: as our vulgar reads; In the multitude of the sorrowes that I had in my heart. What was the cause of those griefs: The slipping of his foot, his errors, his deviations, his sinnes. Other sorrowes may disquiet the soul: none but these have the promise to be comforted. As in martyrdome, it is not the sword or torture; not what we suffer, but why, that makes us martyrs. So in our sorrowes, it is not how deep they penetrate, or how sharply they cruciate, but wherefore, that approves their goodnesse. If our sins be the why of our sorrowes, we are blessed. Blessed are they that thus mourne, for they shall be comforted. Vaine